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13 Famous Dads Who Said the Sweetest Things About Their Kids

By Chris Azzopardi 8:01 AM PDT, June 19, 2015

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Is there anything better than being a parent?

Not according to these dynamic dads, who can't stop gushing about all the light (and sleepless nights) these kids bring to their lives. Just ask Entertainment Tonight's own Kevin Frazier, who's currently featured as part of Men's Health's "Better Man Project" series.

In the article, the ET co-host revealed the journey he experienced reconciling with his son after putting him up for adoption. Frazier was 18 at the time.

"Even though we missed all these years, we value the years now," Frazier said of his son, Tony. "It's a great thing to have a bond with your children."

Indeed, it is. ETonline has compiled a list of 13 famous dads, who will have you swooning with their own lovable dad doctrines.

1. Neil Patrick Harris

The years fly by, don't they? But Neil Patrick Harris isn't lamenting that fact of life -- he's soaking it up.

"The older they get, the more I love being a dad. Now that they're talking, I'm really loving the camp counselor end of parenting," Harris told USA Weekend regarding he and partner David Burtka's twins, Harper and Gideon. "I'm all about reasoning. If they fall and are OK but crying, David will be the hugger, and I'll be the 'Show me where it hurts; let's talk about it' one."

2. Chris Pratt

It's a bird... it's a plane... it's Chris Pratt?! When the superdad isn't blowing up at the box office with record-breaking behemoths, he's blowing our minds with sweet sentiments about he and Anna Faris' son, Jack, who was born premature.

"I've done all kinds of cool things as an actor -- I've jumped out of helicopters and done some daring stunts and played baseball in a professional stadium," Pratt shared during a March of Dimes Celebration of Babies, "but none of it means anything compared to being somebody's daddy. I made promises in that moment about what kind of dad I wanted to be and I just prayed that he'd live long enough that I could keep them."

3. Ben Affleck

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Batman, a softie? Turns out that underneath his tough-guy exterior, Ben Affleck is just a cuddly teddy bear who adores his kids above all else. "They're most important in my life," the soon-to-be superhero told Us Weekly regarding his children: Violet, Seraphina and son Samuel.

"Family is a wonderful thing, but it doesn't mean you can't do other stuff in your life," he elaborated. "In fact, having a family makes whatever other thing you have that much richer. If it was just me, I'd be home alone and think, 'Well, something good happened at work,' but it's much nicer to share it with people you love."

4. Idris Elba

After his dad died in September 2013, Idris Elba was presented with new life the following April. Fittingly, The Wire actor named him Winston, a loving nod to his late father. "I love being a dad," Elba revealed to Cosmo UK. "It's an important part of my life."

And sure, acting is as well, but when it comes to his kids (he also has a teenage daughter, Isan), there's no cutting corners. "It's something I battle a lot because of my career, because as much as it's nice to be busy and working, ultimately children don't raise themselves," he said. "You've got to be there to help them and guide them through it. That's one thing I try my very best to do."

5. Tim McGraw

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The country veteran is known for his oh-so-sweet "daughter ditty," but concerning his own girls, Audrey, Maggie and Gracie, the crooner is a firm believer in practicing what he preaches. "You've got to put your family first," McGraw shared with The Boot. "Whatever's left over can go to your career or whatever else. Your priority list gets a whole lot smaller when you have a family."

6. Ryan Reynolds

Even before meeting li'l James Reynolds' just seven months ago, her famous dad was already doting on his darling girl. "I'm just excited about having a buddy," Reynolds told People in November 2014, a month before James was born.

Now, along with wife Blake Lively, Reynolds is dealing with the reality of raising her. You know, poopy diapers and sleepless nights. For Reynolds, what's being a father like?

"It's everything people say it is," he revealed to USA Today. "It's the greatest joy you could ever possibly imagine, and it's exhausting. What's weird is waking up every 45 minutes during the night and you're in a pleasant mood. Anything else that woke me up every 45 minutes in the middle of the night? You're dead!"

7. Hugh Jackman

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Hugh Jackman waxed poetic with Katie Couric about the long road he and wife Deborra-Lee Furness endured before finally adopting Oscar and Ava: "You can't even explain how incredible it is and that avalanche of emotion that comes and how it opens up your heart, how it frustrates you, how it angers you, how everything is just...all the sudden how alive you are as a parent."

Don't worry. We're in the fetal position too, crying forever.

8. David Beckham

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Just how special are David Beckham's kids to him? Special enough to be inked on his back. Of his children with wife Victoria Beckham -- sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz, and daughter Harper -- the hunky underwear model gushed, "I adore children. I love the fact that our children are part of both of us. It's one of the most amazing things ever. I love being a stay-at-home dad."

9. Brad Pitt

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Having dominated Hollywood for decades, Brad Pitt's passion for his craft obviously runs deep. Just not as deep as raising kids Maddox, Zahara, Pax, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne with Angelina Jolie.

"[Fatherhood] is everything," Pitt revealed to CNN's Larry King. "The hardest job in the world, the most rewarding job in the world.... We put in long days. And to go home and have dinner with your kids, and have to discipline one of them who's out of line, and still have the energy for that is... I can't explain the fulfillment of that, but it is everything."

10. Channing Tatum

Think protecting the president, as Tatum did in 2013's White House Down, sounds terrifying? Try fatherhood. The father of 2-year-old Everly told Us Weekly, "I've never protected the president, but I have been a new dad, and I can tell you that being a new dad is pretty terrifying. I'm pretty sure that something about the president makes the stakes a little higher, but to me as a new father, nothing is more important or scary than protecting a daughter."

11. Matt Damon

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Matt Damon has all the feels -- and then some! During this Parade interview, Damon perfectly summed up the tingles he gets from being dad to Alexia, Gia, Stella and Isabella: "The only way I can describe [fatherhood] -- it sounds stupid, but at the end of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, you know how his heart grows, like, five times its size? Everything is full; it's just full all the time."

12. Ricky Martin

Even when he's livin' la vida loca, single dad Ricky Martin puts his twins first. Martin praises his kids, Matteo and Valentino, for being road "warriors" (aww!) and instills in them the importance of "honesty and transparency." In an interview with PrideSource, the Puerto Rican heartthrob put it this way: "If they are capable of formulating a question, it's because they are capable of receiving the answer." And when it comes to shaking their bon-bons? "Oh it's in their blood," says Martin.

13. Jay Z

If you're a parent in the music biz, you can't not record a song about your kid. But Jay Z's musical ode to Blue Ivy isn't just any sappy song. It's "Glory," and yes, it's as beautiful as Blue herself. "The most amazing feeling I feel / Words can't describe the feeling, for real / Baby, I'll paint the sky blue / My greatest creation was you."

Feeling mushy? You're not alone. We bet Beyonce is an emotional mess every time she hears it too.